Staten Island touch tackle notebook: Winter league ready to go

The Lt. Chuck Margiotta Winter Touch Tackle League began play 14 years ago with just four teams, but has grown into a highly competitive league that rivals the fall Staten Island Touch Tackle League.

“It started out with guys just looking to have some fun and get some exercise in the winter months,” said SITTL president Charlie Margiotta, of the league named in memory of his son, a city firefighter who perished in the rescue effort at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. “I really never expected it to become as popular as it did.”

“Guys are out there having fun, especially when it snows,” said Margiotta. “It’s like when you were a kid, as soon as the snow started hitting the ground you gathered your friends, got to the park and played football in the snow until it got dark.”

“It’s just as competitive as the fall league,” continued Margiotta. “Teams take it seriously. It’s a good way for teams to get some experience for the fall season. It also gives the league a chance to see where some teams should be placed in the future.”

This year, the league — which opens its season Sunday — will consist of one 12-team division. The teams are: C&M Ortho, Average Joe’s, the Reapers, the Lunatics, the Arc Angels, Money Team, Diamond Squad, the Panthers, Dannyboy’s, the SI Warriors, the Falcons and Spartans. Â